Italy’s Transport Minister announced that Italian airline Alitalia is due to sign a tie-up deal with Abu Dhabi’s Etihad on August 8, in a deal Rome hopes will turn the loss-making flag carrier into a money spinner, The Peninsula reported. Italy’s government is keen to sell a 49% stake in the Rome-based company to the Abu Dhabi airline and conclude talks which have dragged on for more than seven months. The board of Alitalia, which has failed to compete with low-cost airlines and high-speed trains and made a profit only a few times in its 68-year lifespan, met yesterday at Rome’s Fiumicino airport.